The Hellmouth Heroes
by IronAmerica
Summary: You thought Halloween was weird before? Try throwing the heroes of Paragon City into the mix, and see how strange the Hellmouth gets. The Slayers meet the Freedom Phalanx. Chaos. Pure and utter chaos.


-1

_Authors' Note: The technical stuff, which I need to get out of the way before I can continue with my story. The TV show _Buffy The Vampire Slayer _does not belong to me._

Joshua the Evil Guy _and his story _Chaotic Circumstances _inspired the idea for this story. I suggest you read that as well._

Summary- Halloween on the Hellmouth. What fun. A group of five teenagers find some rather…_interesting_ costumes at Ethan's. And, unfortunately for them and the Slayerettes, the changes are somewhat… permanent.

o0o0o

Marcus Fish was annoyed. His mother should get together with Snider. They were almost as bad as each other. Instead of spending the day with his friends, he had to take his little geek of a brother costume shopping. The only thing that could make this worse was if his friends saw him.

He looked around, wondering if there was a cheaper place to get costumes than Party Town. Marcus spotted a new shop, which had not been there last week. Despite his "weirdness" alarm going off, he headed in the direction of the shop, younger brother Justin trailing behind.

Marcus stepped into the shop, apparently called Ethan's, and was amazed. This store was better than Party Town! The selection of costumes was amazing. This guy, or whoever owned the store, was going to be extremely wealthy after tonight.

"May I help you?" Marcus jumped, startled. He turned around, and saw a tall, thin man looking at him. He sighed in relief. A normal _human _being. "Ah yes, actually. I need to get five costumes. And do yourself and me a favor. Don't sneak up on anyone in this town. Kay?"

Ethan Rayne nodded. Then the proprietor of the newest store in Sunnydale smiled wolfishly. "Follow me, young man." He turned, and walked towards the back of the store, where he was keeping some of the more… _unusual_ costumes.

The young man, whatever his name was, followed. This was definitely going to be more interesting than turning the Slayer into a simpering noblewoman. He turned, facing his two new clients, and motioned to a rack of five costumes.

"I haven't sold these yet, sadly. They are some of my best costumes," Ethan said, voice dripping with false sincerity. "I can give you gentlemen the lot of them for, shall we say, twenty-five dollars a piece?"

Marcus could almost imagine his jaw hit the floor. Twenty-five dollars? Each? The costumes were at least five times that! He shook himself mentally, and looked over at his brother, who was gazing openmouthed at the costumes. He groaned. "Okay. I'll take 'em."

o0o0o

Marcus hauled the costumes to the upstairs bedroom, smiling. One hundred twenty-five dollars poorer, but much happier. His little brother had grabbed a particular costume, before running off to his room. Marcus didn't mind, as the kid wasn't bothering him.

Opening the door to his room, he saw his three friends, a girl and two boys, ready and waiting for him. He smiled, and held up the four remaining costumes. "We have four choices. All of them are apparently superheroes, and only one of them is for a girl."

A tall red head sighed, and held out her hands. "Hit me, Marcus. It'd better not be Wonder Woman though. Or Black Canary." She blinked as a jade green costume was dropped into her hands. She looked up, confused. "I don't think any super heroines wore green costumes. Are you sure this is the right one?"

Marcus shrugged, and held up his choice of costume. "Well, this is my choice. The twerp says it's the same costume as some guy calling himself Statesman. The other two are fair game, guys."

His two friends, a tall blond youth, and a slightly stockier youth with a shaved head looked at the costumes. The blond one pulled out a coin from his pocket. "Flip you for the spandex Ray."

Ray smiled, and pushed his glasses up on his nose. "Deal Steven." Steven flipped the coin, slapped it on the back of his hand, and looked at it. "Heads or tails, Raymond?"

Ray smiled. "Heads, of course." He frowned at his friend, suddenly worried. "Why do you ask?"

Steven just grinned. "Looks like I'll be in spandex for the evening. Good luck with the armor, though." Steven grabbed the spandex suit, and sprinted from the room, chased by an irate Raymond, laughing loudly.

Marcus watched them go, smirking. He turned around, and saw a sight that nearly made his heart stop. Shalice, his girlfriend, was wearing the green spandex costume. She looked drop-dead gorgeous as well.

"Wow" was the only thing Marcus could say coherently.

o0o0o

Justin Fish stared at the poster on his wall, trying to figure out his costume. While his brother had the costume relating to the infinitely more powerful superhero, he had the one related to the infinitely better, and much cooler, superhero. This was definitely going to be a Halloween worth remembering.

Had Justin realized how right he was, he never would have stepped out the front door of his home, much less put on the costume. As it was, however, he did exactly the opposite of what would have been safe.

He wore the costume.

o0o0o

Manticore groaned, sitting up. He held his head in his hand, wondering when the medi-port would kick in. A painkiller would be nice though. Going after trolls was never this painful. Mostly… He chuckled, and winced, skull feeling like it was being split open.

He stood up gingerly, and looked around. He immediately knew that he was nowhere in the vicinity of Brickstown. He wasn't even in Dark Astoria, although this town could pass for it.

Miniature demons, spooks, and what looked like some miniature superheroes, were running around. Now that was strange. Why weren't the heroes attacking, or at least defending against, the bad guys? That was what being a hero was, after all. Defending the helpless.

"Justin!" He spun around, wondering who knew his name. Only Sister Psyche knew, and possibly Statesman, but that was because Sister Psyche could read minds, and Statesman was probably keeping tabs on him. It was probably the Back Alley Brawlers fault on the last count.

"Justin!" A rather striking, and skimpily dressed, red head was running towards him, looking frantic. Some rather amusing thoughts sprang to the forefront of his mind, but he quashed them ruthlessly. Being on a team with a telepath tended to make sure that he could reign in his hormones at a moments notice.

The red head stopped before him, panting. She looked up at him, relief spreading across his face. "Thank God! At least you're still normal." She made to grab his hand, but passed right through him. She stared at her hands in confusion, and then horror.

He raised an eyebrow. "Having trouble with your intangibility?" He asked, smirking slightly. She looked at him, now extremely confused. "I would suggest talking to Azuria, or possibly Numina. They deal with the new heroes like you all the time."

The red head (he was going to have to learn her name at some point), just looked at him blankly. He sighed, shaking his head. "Are you not mystic based then? Maybe mutation or natural?"

She shook her head, still looking blank. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Come on, we need to find Buffy." She turned around, and Manticore, groaning in exasperation followed her.

o0o0o

_-Manticore! Where are you? -_ Sister Psyche called again, putting on more power. Finally, she stopped. She looked over at Statesman/not Statesman, and shook her head. "Sorry. I can't find him. The girl that I'm inhabiting, her name is Shalice, says that he was dressed in a costume much like Manticore's. If what happened to our hosts affects everyone, than he should be here as well."

A light breeze brushed past her, and a man appeared. Synapse shook his head as well. "I didn't find him, and I looked all over the bloody planet." Synapse was not joking, as he was the fastest man on earth. Nothing, and no one, could match him for speed and stamina.

Statesman sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Is there anywhere that we haven't thought to look?" He was feeling extremely annoyed with the entire situation. He looked at Sister Psyche, and asked, "Can you get us in contact with our hosts again?"

"Sure." A moment later, and the four of them were in a white plane, with four other people.

The tallest, a young blond man, strode forward angrily. "What the hell is going on here? Why aren't we in control of our bodies?" He looked very angry, which was to be expected. Being a prisoner in your own mind was never a fun experience.

Statesman stepper forward, hands up in a placating gesture. "We don't know what's going on here, son. We don't know why we've taken control of you bodies. Rest assured, we are taking steps to rectify the situation. We need to find Manticore, though. We have reason to believe that he is also here, as Sister Psyche's host remembers a young man named Justin Fish wearing a costume much like our absent comrades."

Marcus sighed, and smacked his fist into his hand. He repeated the gesture several times, staring into space. "Alright. I think that if Justin is like us, he may still be in town. Head for Sunnydale, and start looking around the vicinity of the school and Water Street." He paused, apparently thinking. He exploded "I should have brought him along!"

Sister Psyche smiled at the youth, and said, "Don't worry. We'll find him." She ended the psychic link abruptly, pulling her teammates back to the regular plane of existence. "Well, that was helpful." Sister Psyche glared at the speaker, who turned out to be Synapse.

"Easy, Sister Psyche." Synapse raised his hands in a defensive gesture. It was entirely like Manticore, which brought a frown to Statesman's face. "Come on people. We need to find Manticore."

The four departed, heading for town by their own various methods of travel. Flight, speed, and a telekinetic boost were the options available. Everyone was aware of the painful gap where Manticore should be, complaining good-naturedly about his lack of powers.

o0o0o

Manticore looked around the suburban house he was now in, smiling. This was almost like the Brawlers' house, just not as… upscale. Okay, make that seriously nothing like the Brawler's house.

The man he and this "Willow" person had come across were now providing defense for the small urban home. The home belonged to Buffy, who was supposed to be a Scrapper, or a Tanker, but who was instead a simpering, wimpy, whining noble woman. This was almost his worst nightmare come true. Almost, but not quite.

Willow had the man, named Xander, open the door for a girl in a cat costume. "Your name is Cordelia. You are not a cat. You go to high school with us. We're your friends. Well, sort of…"

The girl, Cordelia, stared at Willow. "What's with the name game? What's going on out there? I got a rip in my costume. Do you think Party Town will give me back my deposit?." He shook his head, smirking slightly. He uncrossed his arms, walked over to the two women, and held up his hand, stalling "Cordelia".

"Excuse me miss. Would you mind telling me what your origin powers are? The young man over there is of natural origin." He gestured to the soldier, who was referred to as Xander. Cordelia looked at him blankly, and he shook his head sadly. "Never mind. Just asking."

A sharp rap on the door drew everyone's attention. Buffy latched herself onto Manticore's arm, and began begging him to protect her. She was really starting to get on his nerves, he realized. In fact, he would prefer Countess Crey at the moment. At least she was bearable.

The rap came again, accompanied by two short ones, and then a louder one. Manticore sighed in relief. Statesman and his stupid codes finally had some use now. He crossed to the door, and opened it up. He grinned in relief. Finally, some NORMAL people. "Hiya States. How's it going?"

Statesman sighed, mostly in exasperation, but there was also some relief in there. "Hello Manticore." He stepped into the house, followed by the rest of the Freedom Phalanx. Statesman looked around, and then back at Manticore. "Have you been apprised of the situation yet, Manticore?"

Manticore shook his head, not sure what Statesman was talking about. Sister Psyche elaborated for him. "We currently possess the bodies of five teenagers, and Paragon City does not exist in this timeline. It is much like Praetoria. Without the super powers, of course."

"Not from what I'm seeing," a man in a metal suit, Positron, snorted, looking out the window.

Manticore nodded, still frowning. "That still doesn't explain why we haven't found what caused this. And, who exactly do I inhabit?" He was worried about the possible repercussions that tonight's… circumstances would have on his host.

Sister Psyche replied almost immediately. "You currently possess the brother of Statesman's host. His name is Justin." Manticore nodded slowly.

He turned to the soldier, Xander, and said, "We need to set up a stronger perimeter. Statesman can handle the details." He walked to the door leading to the kitchen, and to the back door, where he took up a defensive position.

A shockwave ran through the house, knocking everyone down. Manticore felt it after everyone in the house, before he too crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

o0o0o

Justin Fish woke up the next morning, in his own home, with a splitting headache. He looked around his room, wondering how he had gotten here. The last thing he remembered was trick-or-treating with some of his friends, and then nothing. He was not in his costume anymore either, which meant that someone, probably his brother, had found him and brought him home.

Justin sat up, wincing. Something in his hand crackled, drawing his attention. It was a note, scrawled in his own handwriting. Why didn't he remember writing it? He looked at it, and read it, frowning.

The note read -_Justin, my name is Manticore. This may sound strange to you, but the City Of Heroes, Paragon City, does exist. As you have probably guessed by now, I possessed you last night. This probably sounds strange, but it is true. Look under your bed. There should be a large box under there. It contains some things of mine that I left for you. I hope that I had enough time after the Wolf Spiders to leave enough for you to understand._

_This is probably very strange for you, but it's all true. I haven't had time to explain everything to you, and Statesman will probably throttle me for telling you any of this. If Sister Psyche is correct, you should retain all of my skills, and, I really hope this did not happen, my memories. If you do happen to have them, good luck to you._

_You should probably burn this note after reading it, by the way. You are in essence, me. Redundant point now, but moving on. If I remember any of this after I get back to Paragon City, I will attempt to get Portal Corp to open up a portal to your dimension. Until then, keep on trucking. -Manticore_

Justin reread the letter several times, before grinning. This was definitely going to be good. Hopefully, this would remain permanent. He crumpled up the letter, putting it in his pocket to burn later.

He wriggled under his bed, and found the large box, exactly where Manticore had said it would be. He dragged it out, and popped the locks. What was inside surprised him. Manticore's costume, sheets of information, his tools, and what looked like lines of computer code. On top of the pile was a small sheet of paper with tow words written on it. _Good Luck_. That was strange.

A sharp knock on his door startled Justin out of his reverie. He shoved the box back under his bed, and jumped up, wincing. His skull was killing him, and it felt like he had a grapefruit sized lump on his forehead.

He walked over to his bedroom door, and opened it, leaning heavily on the doorframe. His brother stood there, hand raised to knock again. "You're awake. Good. Meeting downstairs in five." With that, Marcus turned around, and strode down the stairs.

"Cheery" Justin muttered, staring after his brothers' retreating back. He closed his door, and walked over to his dresser. He sifted through the drawers, before settling on a pair of loose gray sweat pants and a loose white t-shirt. It was not something he normally would have chosen, but he felt that it would be infinitely more comfortable to wear for a long meeting at home.

o0o0o

Five hours later, Justin was definitely accepting his strange impulses as a good thing. The clothes, tuning out his brother, and doodling on a sheet of paper were some of the ones that he definitely thought were worth it. And what was that funny tickling sensation at the base of his skull?

"Justin, pay attention please." He looked up, and saw his brother glaring at him moodily. He rolled his eyes, but tried to focus. It was probably important, but he wanted to go back to his room, before he fell asleep at the table. His forehead creased, the tickling sensation becoming more of a sledgehammer sensation.

He winced, and placed his fingers on his temples. The sensation only increased in power, until _something_ prompted him to push back. The sensation abated quickly, giving him a brief glimpse at whoever, or what ever, had been trying to break into his mind. He looked straight at Shalice, and his lips pulled back, forming a silent snarl. The message was clear. _Stay out of my head._

Shalice frowned as Justin blocked, and not just blocked, but also repelled, her mental probing. She had been looking to see if anything from last night had been stuck in his head, as it had been with the other four, herself included. Obviously, he had more than he was letting on in his head. This was not good, and Marcus would have a fit.

-_Marcus. It's not good. He has _all_ of Manticore's memories, as well as Manticore's alter ego. He won't be as easy to protect now. We're going to have to explain things to him now._-

Marcus frowned, having received his girlfriends' message. Damn. This was definitely not going to be a short meeting. He turned his gaze back to his younger brother, who was looking at his hands, obviously thinking.

"Justin." His brother looked up, startled. "How much do you remember about last night?" Marcus leaned back on his beanbag, waiting for his younger brothers' response. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. If what he thought was happening was, then the nightmare of Halloween was definitely not going to be resolved quickly.

Justin rearranged his face, so that he was no longer snarling, and assumed a neutral mask. "Why should I tell you what I remember?" He smiled slightly, looking around at the four sixteen-year olds. Marcus looked like he was going to burst a blood vessel, which only made Justin smile even more broadly.

"Well, as interesting as all this is, you kids need to head home." Everyone spun around, and came face to face with a tall blond haired man. He was looking at them with his eyebrows raised, and he looked amused.

"Yes sir" Shalice muttered, and stood up, walking towards the door. A light breeze rushed through the kitchen, and suddenly Steven was gone. Raymond, who was wearing a trench coat and a fedora, stood up as well, muttering "show-off", and walked tout the door.

The blond man looked at the two still seated at the kitchen table, before sitting down himself. He folded his hands, and looked gravely at the two boys. "Justin, Marcus, I assume the two of you are aware of the goings on of last night?" Only Marcus nodded, and Justin merely looked confused.

"What are you talking about dad? Goings on of last night?" Justin was confused. He didn't remember anything about last night, except for collapsing on the street, and then waking up this morning in his bedroom with no clue as to how he had gotten there.

His father sighed, and rubbed his face with his hands. This was not going to be a good day. "Everyone turned into their costumes last night. I got home a few minutes ago, after pulling a double shift at the station. It is a nightmare there. Thank god for the powers though. Or would that be thank Odin?" He mused, staring into space.

"Odin?" Justin raised an eyebrow, incredulous. His father, Don, had never been religious in any sense of the word. And now he was referring to a Norse god as though the man, or god, or ethereal being, was real? That was disturbing, and unnatural.

"Yes, Odin. The reason I was pulling a double shift is because I was THOR! I cannot believe I even dressed up for Halloween. However, there was a party, and a woman that I like was going to be at that same party. So, I went to the same costume store. Oh, and your mother is going to be dropping off your things later today. She's given up partial custody."

Don Fish stood up, and walked out of the kitchen, leaving two very stunned teenagers behind. They sat silently for almost five minutes, eyes wide open. Justin was the first to make a move.

"Well, that was interesting. Are you aware that our dad now shares his body with a god?" He laughed nervously, before banging his forehead down on the table. He banged it several times, before looking up again. "This is not good, you realize?"

Marcus just nodded, still looking slightly shell shocked. "Yeah. It's not good. Now Zeus and Thor are in the same house. We should just put the fire department on speed dial now."

"Marcus, please don't refer to yourself in the third person. It's mildly disturbing," Justin muttered, forehead still on the table. "Statesman did that enough in the comics… Wait! The comics!" Justin shot bolt upright, as if he had been electrocuted. "Excuse me for a few moments." He pelted from the kitchen at top speed, leaving his very confused brother behind.

A few minutes later, Justin came running back into the room, his arms full of paper, character sheets, and his comic book collection.

"Ahh, Justin, what is this stuff?" Marcus lifted a sheet of paper from the table, and frowned at it, not sure what to make of the information scrawled on the paper.

"It's probably the answer to what exactly happened last night! I can't believe that I didn't think of this earlier!" Justin was practically bouncing up and down in his seat he was so excited. "It's everything to do with COH and COV. Character info, power sets, costumes, teams, weapons, races… The list goes on and on."

Marcus nodded, struggling to keep his face straight. His little brother was definitely a nerd. No one, and he meant NO ONE, could be this obsessed with a computer game. It was kid of freaky. He looked up at his brother, who was busy digging through the pile of papers, obviously looking for something.

"Hey, Justin? Is there a character sheet for Statesman?" Marcus asked quickly.

Justin looked up from his search, and grinned broadly. "Of course. It should be right…. Here!" He held up a large folder triumphantly, and passed it to Marcus.

Marcus opened the folder, and raised an eyebrow in disbelief. His brother was definitely very creepy. The entire front page was a hand drawn picture of Statesman, with his list of powers, weaknesses, and various other details. "This is…" Marcus paused, grasping for the right words. "Ahh, this is insane."

"Isn't it great though?" Justin said happily. He grinned, before grabbing a few files for himself.

o0o0o

_Across town…_

Stefan Martin blinked in the bright light, and slammed his drapes shut. The light bothered his eyes for some reason. He normally loved spending hours in the sunlight, but now, he couldn't stand it.

He growled darkly, and stalked across his room. He mimed punching something, imagining a man in a red white and blue costume. He blinked rapidly, confused. Stopping, he mentally shook himself. Last night was still a blur, but he distinctly remembered a man in spandex, whom he wanted to kill for some reason.

He snorted, grabbed a pair of sunglasses from on top of his dresser, and put them on. Stomping back to his large bay window, he opened the drapes a crack, and hissed as the sunlight met his eyes. "Damn sunlight" he muttered darkly.

He jumped as someone knocked on his door. "Open up Stefan. It's me, Imad." Stefan walked over to his bedroom door, and opened it, glaring at the young man who was standing there.

"What?" Stefan rasped, aware of how hoarse he was. He was also not in a good mood, again for an unknown reason. He turned around, walking past a crumpled up cape, probably from last nights costume party, and sat down on his bed. "What's up Imad?"

Imad Tariq just stared at his friend. Something was definitely up with the man. "What do you remember about last night?" Imad started, watching his older friend carefully.

Stefan frowned, thinking back through the haze of the previous night. _A person passing him a glass of beer._ Blank. _Passing out after drinking the beer. _Blank. _A bleached blond man running in fear. _

_A white haired woman with a cruel smile walked up to him. "All hail Lord Recluse" she said silkily. She bowed lightly, before walking towards a shaking man on the ground. The man suddenly hit his cane on the ground, and a flash of lightning. _Blank.

_Lord Recluse gazed around the tiny little hamlet he was in, and snorted. This was not Paragon, or his domain, the Rogue Isles. Whoever had kidnapped him would pay for this. He lifted his fist to the sky, and then swung it down, pointing towards the town. Wave upon wave of minions rushed past him, descending on the unsuspecting town. _Blank.

Stefan looked up. "What happened?"

Imad smirked. "We became our costumes. More specifically the chiefs, and the grand lord, of Arachnos." Imad bowed deeply to his older friend, before straightening. "I have retained all of the skills and knowledge of my possessor, Scirocco. You became the grand lord and master of Arachnos, Lord Recluse. We are here to serve, my lord."

Three other youths stepped into the room. A thin youth, with impossibly blue skin and fins, which was strange, even for Sunnydale. A tall silver blond girl, with heavy black eye shadow, and a rather large hulking young man with a scarred face.

Stefan raised an eyebrow, before addressing them. "Hello Gideon." He inclined his head towards the tall girl. "Belladonna, always a pleasure." The girl smiled. He turned his gaze to the hulking young man, who bowed his head respectfully. "Hello Ernesto. In trouble with the police yet?"

Ernesto chuckled darkly, before shaking his head. "Not yet. And I intend to buy out the police force."

"Nice to have goals" Stefan quipped. "Now to business. What is the status of the towns' population of superheroes? Please tell me that it is non-existent."

Belladonna grimaced, before walking to the window. She made to open the drapes, when Stefan bellowed "NO!" She turned around, startled. Stefan glared at her, eyes sparking crimson.

"No light. Continue with your report." Stefan waved a hand, and sat down on his bed. The four took that to mean that they were allowed to sit down, and appropriated the numerous beanbags.

Belladonna, over her initial embarrassment, continued. "An unwitting recruit reports that there are now very few, if any, surviving super powered beings in Sunnydale. All schools have been closed indefinitely, and many businesses are closed indefinitely. They are expected to open up again sometime tomorrow morning or afternoon. The damage from last night should be repaired sometime by the end of this week or next."

Gideon picked up where Belladonna had left off. "The docks are still open, and the word is that the Navy and several National Guard units will be coming in to maintain the peace. Other than that, the docks are open for business." He grinned, revealing very sharp teeth.

Stefan grimaced, before looking at Imad. Imad nodded, before clearing his throat. "The super hero population of this town is currently in hiding. Either they cannot control their powers, or they are dead. The third option is that they are learning how to use their powers to their fullest advantage. As Belladonna stated, there are very few, so they will not pose a threat."

Stefan frowned, and sighed. "For the sake of this town, let us hope that those heroes are all dead. If they aren't, we make sure that they do die. Am I clear?" His tone and voice were dangerously calm and even.

Everyone nodded. Stefan had made himself perfectly clear.

o0o0o

Justin yawned, closing his book with a thunk. He tossed it onto a growing stack in front of him, and looked around. Steven, who had complete control of his powers, was becoming a veritable paper tornado. The stack of books surrounding him was considerably larger.

Shalice came up beside him, and leaned over his shoulder. "How's it going Justin? Find anything useful?" Her perfume was intoxicating. It was jasmine, wasn't it?

"Nah. I'm just going to pack it in for the night. You guys are probably going to be up all night though. I've already researched my fields to death."

Shalice smiled at him, before patting his shoulder. "G'night then. See ya in the morning." She smiled as the fourteen year old stood up, yawning and stretching. He was definitely kinda cute when he was tired… She shook her head, wondering where that particular thought had come from.

Shalice shrugged it off, and picked up several more books. The subjects had been suggested by her two "houseguests" as good material for a budding psychic. Steven had had to run all the way to London, and inevitably burglarized the house of a man by the last name of Travers. Needless to say, the man, Travers, had not been pleased. Apparently he had magical protection against unauthorized entry.

She sat down cross-legged, and began to read.

o0o0o

_Two days later…_

Buffy Summers sat in the library, looking despondently at her nails. Halloween had been two days ago. A lot of people had had strange things happen to them, and all she had now was an intimate knowledge of the French language and an unexplainable love of Royal Doulton crockery.

Xander was busy writing down everything that he remembered, which was a considerable amount. Apparently he had been possessed by a commando from some god-forsaken rock. He was very happy with his new knowledge, and he was busy thinking up new ways to kill vampires, and the occasional powered being. Not that there were many of the latter left in Sunnydale.

Willow, however; was the only one who was still mostly normal. She had to keep testing the walls and furniture, just to see if she could still walk through them. Needless to say, it hadn't worked.

The door to the library banged open, and five students came running in. Giles made a slight whimper in the back of his throat, but did nothing more for some reason. Four of them descended on the computers, and began typing rapidly. The other one just ran into the stacks, and began hunting for a book.

Justin ran into the stacks, holding on to a pad of paper. The pad had call numbers written on almost every page, and all of the books contained a wide, somewhat erratic, variety of books. After almost ten minutes the fourteen year old came stumbling out of the stacks, his arms loaded down with books.

The subjects ranged from law to archery, from finances to clothing, and from combat to advanced weaponry. Giles raised an eyebrow as the young man came staggering over to him. "Can I check all of theses out?"

Giles nodded, eyebrows still raised. He had never seen this student in the library, which meant that he used the public library, or he was one of the jocks who rarely set foot in the library. Providing said jocks knew where, or what, a library was.

"Thanks" Justin muttered, and picked up his enormous stack of books. He staggered out, heading for a study hall, most likely. Giles watched him go in amusement.

"Have you seen a kid about yea high walk past?" a tall blond youth had come up to the check out counter, also carrying a stack of books. He was holding his hand at shoulder height, and looking around in consternation.

"Yes" Giles said, looking mildly amused. "He walked out of here just a minute ago carrying a rather large stack of books." He motioned to the youths' pile of books. "I assume that you wish to check those out now?"

The youth nodded, and put the books on the desk. "I'm Marcus." Giles just nodded, and continued scanning the books. Finally, he finished scanning all of them. "There you go. They'll be due back in three weeks."

Marcus grinned, and collected his books, before he to left the library.

o0o0o

Stefan Martin glowered across the table at his parents. He was still wearing his sunglasses, and was still refusing to leave the house until the sun set. His parents were getting angry with his refusal to go back to school, and were threatening to cut off his allowance.

He closed his eyes, and slumped further in his high-backed chair, tuning out his parents voices. Mental estimations and calculations began flickering through his mind at high speeds, going by almost to fast for him to comprehend. He was beginning to comprehend the flow of information in leaps and bounds, but it still wasn't fast enough for him.

"Are you paying attention Stefan?" He looked up, eyes glowing slightly. "Good. Now, we were saying that, since you are refusing to return to school, we could hire tutors for you. I assume that is the only option that you will agree with?"

Stefan nodded, and sat up straighter. Now if things would continue to go his way for the next few minutes, he would be in the clear. The next thing his father said made him angry, however. "You're going to be grounded indefinitely though. No going out, no TV, no allowance for the duration, and no friends may come over."

Stefan's eyes sparked madly behind his sunglasses. The demonic red glow drew his parents attention faster than his refusal to go to school. "Stefan, what's-" his mother never finished her question.

o0o0o

The funeral was soon after the death of the elder Martins', as was the fashion in Sunnydale. With all the bodies disappearing from the morgue and funeral homes, it paid to have the funerals as soon as possible.

Stefan Martin stood at the gravesite with his hands folded in front of him, head bowed respectfully. His attitude, had anyone been paying attention, was less than respectful. He was smirking, and his shoulders were shaking. To the casual observer, he looked like he was crying. In reality, he was trying his hardest not to laugh. These people had bought his story about the gang members on PCP.

Someone walked up beside the youth, and touched his shoulder. He whirled around, snarling. The man who was standing there drew back in surprise.

"I'm very sorry to disturb you at a time like this, Mr. Martin. I'm Thomas Burke, of Burke and James, your parents' firm. We have to go over their will soon, and I needed to notify you."

Stefan nodded, snarl disappearing. His parents will would be read. That was good.

o0o0o

_A/N: So, how was that for a first chapter? Let me know what you think, tell me what to improve, or change. You know, significant grammar/spelling/punctuation errors…_

_Leave a review anyways, just so I know that you want to read more of the insanity that is my story._


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